God...your writing gives me chills...in a good way of course! I was practically biting my nails off reading that section about Andrew. Loved the latest chapter. Update soon please!

Author's Response: Thanks Sara. Andrew's portions have been difficult to write but surprisingly fun too.

Wow. That was pretty damn awesome. Love how all of those worlds finally seem to be coming together centered on a portal, or something else, it's all about to happen. And the idea of the little trick to make copies of all the second world protagonists was just briliiant. And I love that of all people Harmony somehow managed to see thru it. I really like your take on her. And the Hulk conversation with Oz. And I agree with her wisdom that they will indeed encounter stress in that place. And I liked that Ethan 1 is concerned that Ethan 2 will figure out what he's up to. And that in the end, Spike is ready to take his ticket out of the game. And Xander won't let him do that to his Friend. So much to come in that other world, and I can hardly wait. Update soon!

BTW... Loved this line... sadly these verbal gags always take me back to the Friends episode where everyone found out about Chandler and Monica. Poor Joey... "Willow was close, now. He considered the dizzying logic at play. Willow was close, and he knew she was close, and she knew that he knew. And he, of course, knew that. He prayed the vicious cycle ended there." :)

Author's Response: Thanks BuffyRat. Hahah I remember that gag from Friends too. Poor Joey indeed.

"She felt his entire body jump at the sound of its death, as if suddenly realizing what hers had known all along.
This is going to happen.
And after it does, it will never stop.
And you will come back to me.
Soul or not. World or not."


And with all of that, he had to act against her. Seems with his mission, he knows better than her that should he give in to her, he would not be able to complete it. And it seems as if he has become her new drug, her strongest addiction beyond any real reason. And she's gonna go after him whether it is the right thing to do, better or not better for either of them. And that is not even taking into account all of the other wonderful revelations in this chapter. Love the emails at the beginning, even if I'm not entirely sure how those relate to everything else. And the trying situation that Willow 1 is suffering dealing with doubles of some of her closest friends. Trying to break into the lair to get after Buffy. Seems big conflict is about to happen in this story, and I can't wait to see who makes it out on the other side. Not to mention to see how well Dru and Xander are getting along. Such an odd pairing... Love his flash back to the awful deaths of saints. And the still trying to wrap my mind around her pending or past saint hood. Please, update soon. So awesome to see more of this story.

Author's Response: Thanks, BR. I guess the end is getting close now.

Author's Response: Oh, if they "were" together, would it be Xandrilla or Drusander? I vote for #2. Not a bad idea for a pairing, actually...

Loved the beginning with Angel's correspondence. Funny stuff. So much going on here - I definitely will need a reread.

So Willow is supposed to kill alternate, angry Skaya/Buffy but isn't going to make it in time. And now Ethan, for better or worse, is going to send Spike back in time to do it. That is sure gonna be an interesting thing to see. Wonder if he can kill her to save the world. And who has Andrew run into and what is it. Jonathan perhaps? Now you've got to update cause I need to know what happens next. Update soon!

Author's Response: "And who has Andrew run into and what is it. Jonathan perhaps?" Well, you ARE paying attention, aren't you! But it's much, much worse... Cheers.

I wish I could remember how you introduced Azazel the first time around. I don't think it was with this much hilarious, domestic detail. The bunch of demons chillin' up in Belial of Dexidron's crib watching television, snacking on heads and playing board games painted a very cozy picture. Azazel's Crap. Now what response to the summoning was stellar.

I love how put upon Azazel is, and this complaint had me laughing: It was times like these Azazel wished he was just a Minor Devil, so he could fly below the radar and avoid all this political junk. Or, shit, even an Angel would be a nice change of pace. It seemed like those spoiled little douchebags could do whatever the hell they wanted. Azazel having to rescue a pee soaked Andrew just added insult to injury.

Switching over to Buffy riddled with guilt and self loathing was like flipping a switch from comedy to tragedy. Seeing Spike through her eyes here was heart hurting: She grabbed him by the arm, and instantly regretted it. The thing that turned to face her was carved from dead wood. A pair of vacant, azure eyes suddenly betrayed the fiend's age, and the weariness she saw there was almost reptilian. She wondered how much of that had been her fault. Yeah, Buffy, it's all about you.

Giles' reaction to Spike's presence and the slew of unflattering adjectives used in describing him (or "It" as Giles calls Spike) was another dark spot. His antipathy is well documented, but can't the watcher cut the undead some slack? This Robocop has been helping in the good fight without seeking Buffy out. Giles hoping he'll finally get himself killed and drift into the sea of old, bad memories, yet another secret to warm the Watcher's grave just pisses me off.

Azazel forcing his way through the ground, bashing his extra heads and antenna and other assorted gelatinous parts was vivid and funny, but nowhere near as funny as his impromptu appearance amongst the slayers. His "Sup. How's it hangin’, yo?" had me laughing, and through the attack and his complaining and finally getting their attention and play acting the innocent tourist revisiting family haunts, I was giggling uncontrollably. Poor, barf worth demon, I don't think the slayers are buying what you're selling. It's hysterical.





Author's Response: "Yeah, Buffy, it's all about you. " Aww. Haha, yeah, but she is a loveable little egomaniac. I didn't change Azazel's intro at all from what I can remember, but now I'm not so sure... I know he was always motherfucking unstoppable at Connect Four, though. Cheers BP.

I'm glad to have found this one – what a fun, rewarding, ambitious fic!

I look forward to seeing where it's all going!

Author's Response: Thanks :)

"What am I, psychic? No spoilers here. Bake your own cookies, Chosen One."

Love the nod to the finale. And Dru visible in a mirror. And Buffy finally has the answers, or the right questions, and I'm waiting for her to share. Hoping you do to. Always the down side to catching up with a fic, now you have to wait with the rest of the world. So many crazy layers to this tale. Can't wait the they all french braid together. Update soon!

Author's Response: "And Buffy finally has the answers, or the right questions, and I'm waiting for her to share. Hoping you do to." This might be a bold statement, but I think the next chapter I post will answer almost 100% of the questions regarding what everyone has been up to and what's *really* going on. I hope to get it up very soon. I've been pretty good about posting lately. Cheers, BR!

Love Buffy reading math word problems in study hall. Would love to mull those over and work out the answers, but I swore off school work after I finished college. And it would seem that Faith has herself in a bit of a predicament there, too. Hope she gnaws through that straight jacket. And Spike egging on the psychiatrist is highly amusing.

Author's Response: "Would love to mull those over and work out the answers, but I swore off school work after I finished college." ROFL! Me too. There is a real answer to the "Mastermind" puzzle (and actually, a few clues scattered in previous chapters), but you can blond it if you want to. The answer to that one is coming very shortly.

“Kenny G,” explained a voice somewhere behind him. “Something off the Gravity album, I think.”

“So, it’s to be torture, is it?”

Torture indeed. And I love the random whore house.

Author's Response: :^)

Willow's detailed email was fascinating. I love that she's finally paying a price for resurrecting Buffy, even though her hand was forced by this jack Turtle. This is beautiful: When the Witch cried out the last word, I suddenly realized my mistake, my fucking stupidity. I could feel the infinite weight of the Big Everything slip sideways and crack, crushing some tiny piece of clockwork that had kept the heavens in motion for all eternity. Willow's actions started this ball rolling.

This was in voice and totally Willow: He told me I had broken The Big Rule when I brought you back; jammed an extra piece into an already finished puzzle. There was supposed to be a sacrifice, you see. But I was too weak, too selfish to go through with it. I thought I was so smart, Buff. It was the old cocky computer hacker in me, I think. Giles once called me a "rank amateur," but the truth is so much worse than that. Staring into that awful, eternal blankness, I finally knew what I was. I was a thief, and a stupid, sloppy one at that. I thought she was taking responsibility and was finally ready to follow the rules, and then this put that notion on its head: I was looking into the bright face of Everything, and I suddenly knew that I would risk it all for my friend, hack the system one more time. I would defy God to save you, if that's what it took. I'm not sure what that makes me exactly, but I realize now that I really don't care, and probably never will. I can't bear a world without you in it.

So I jumped. I've been jumping ever since. Willow's all about rewriting the rule book. She's a lot like Buffy that way. her inability to remember the Big Now makes her clues nearly useless though Buffy will probably be able to decipher them in retrospect. It all adds a surreal twist to an already crazy situation.

After all that wacky exposition and Willow's entertaining narrative of Florida Buffy and her wacky history, the emotional tsunami of Spike and Buffy's reunion was vividly drawn. Buffy's rage fueled violence was hard to read. She's pushing the vampire away even as she's pulling him close in her heart. That plaintive This is how we are captured the contradiction beautifully and their distraction allowed Nancy to escape. Nicely done.

Author's Response: Willow was always screwing up spells on the show, so I figured: Why wouldn't she have blown the most important one, too?

Author's Response: ...oh and thanks! :)